Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted much of his time to ocean exploration following World War II. He bought a Calypso minesweeper and took it on a round-the-world trip, including the Antarctic Circle. He collected data and conducted experiments that led to the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and SP-350 deep-sea submarine for two.
Cousteau began his research with the creation of an apparatus for breathing called the aqualung. Although this apparatus was able to allow Cousteau to breathe in controlled air, it was only suited for shallow diving. Cousteau realized that there had to be a better way of controlling the flow of air to explore the depths of oceans. After much experimentation, Cousteau developed the demand regulator. This allowed air to only move on demand. This invention would enable divers to extend their air supply and help them avoid decompression syndrome.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur and scuba diving go back to the early 1900s. 1946 saw the invention of a fullface face mask with a loose top plate. It was a kind of demand regulator diaphragm. His next invention was the diving regulator.
In 1933, the first scuba diving apparatus was patent. The device combined the Fernez-Le-Prieur's air supply system and the demand regulator created by Rouquayrol and Denayrouze. It revolutionized the world of scuba diving, making it affordable and easy to use underwater breathing devices. This was the birth of recreational diving.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric contributed a lot to the history and evolution of scuba diving throughout his life. His articles for The Saturday Evening Post, which covered scuba diving, were the first to include a sport diving manual. He was fascinated by the sea and the natural world and decided to travel the Mediterranean to write about it. The book is credited as inspiring Jacques Cousteau. He would go on later to create modern scubadiving.
In the early 20th Century, the inventions of modern scuba diving gear were made. In 1921, American marine biologist Guy Gilpatric patented a system that allowed divers to breathe air without the use of surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier invents an underwater system for self-contained breathing. He sold the system to Owen Churchill, and the scuba rig quickly gained popularity. Guy Gilpatric then developed rubber goggles with glass lenses, face masks, snorkels, swim fins, and a high-pressure air tank.
Yves Gagnan
Scuba divers used to depend on their helmets, diving bells, or air hoses from above at the beginning of this century. Yves Gagnan (Parisian engineer) helped them to create a demand valve system. The new device could provide compressed air on demand and adjust to the pressure in the water. This discovery enabled people of all levels to explore oceans.
Gagnan was born in Burgundy, France, in 1900. After graduating from college he worked for Air Liquide, where he studied high pressure pneumatics design. This helped to develop the scuba equipment we now use.